In a component arrangement including a MOS transistor having a drift zone and a field electrode arranged adjacent to the drift zone the field electrode can be connected to a source zone of the MOS transistor. In this case, with the component in the off state, the field electrode provides a countercharge with respect to the charge which is present in the drift zone and which results from a doping of the drift zone. Charge carriers in the drift zone are compensated for by the countercharge, whereby a higher doping of the drift zone and thus a lower on resistance are possible for a given dielectric strength.
The field electrode can also be connected to a gate electrode of the MOS transistor. In this case, with the component in the on state, the field electrode brings about the formation of an accumulation channel in the drift zone. This reduces the on resistance for a given dielectric strength.
However, the connection of the field electrode to the gate electrode increases the gate-drain capacitance of the component and leads to an increase in the switching delay since with each switch-on operation, apart from the gate electrode the field electrode also has to be charged from the gate circuit or by using a gate driver circuit. For a given current yield of the gate driver circuit, when a field electrode is present, the time duration required to charge the gate electrode up to the threshold voltage and thereby to drive the component in the on state is lengthened in comparison with a component without a field electrode.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.